Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2019, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Angola (Ratification: 1976)

The Committee notes the observations from the National Union of Angola Workers (UNTA), which were received on 30 August 2019. It requests the Government to provide its comments thereon.

The Committee also notes with concern that the Government’s report has not been received. It expects that the next report will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous comments.

Legislation. The Committee recalls that for a number of years it has been requesting the Government to take the opportunity afforded by the process of the revision of the General Labour Act to bring this piece of legislation into line with the requirements of the Convention, in particular as regards its scope of application, the definition of remuneration and the application, without restrictions, of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. While noting with interest that some of the matters raised by the Committee in its previous comments have been addressed with the adoption of the new General Labour Act (Act No. 7/015) on 21 April 2015, that is, the lifting of restrictions to the application of the principle of the Convention to men and women working for the same employer, under the same conditions or having the same qualifications, the Committee notes with regret that the opportunity of the revision of the Act was not seized to bring the legislation fully into conformity with the Convention. The Committee urges the Government to give serious consideration to the pending points raised below by the Committee.

Scope. Noting that the new General Labour Act maintains the same restrictions as the previous legislation as to its scope of application, the Committee requests the Government to indicate how the principle of the Convention is applied to the categories of workers falling outside the scope of application of the Act, such as civil servants and casual workers, and to provide copies of any relevant special legislation applicable.

Article 1(a) of the Convention. Definition of remuneration. The Committee notes that, according to the definition of remuneration set out in section 155 of the new General Labour Act, payments for extra duties are now considered as part of the remuneration, while other components, such as travel and accommodation allowances, as well as family allowances and other social security benefits, continue to be excluded from the definition. The Committee recalls that the definition of remuneration contained in Article 1(a) of the Convention is broad and covers all the emoluments workers may receive in exchange for their labour, whether received regularly or only occasionally, including dependency allowances, travel allowances or expenses, housing and residential allowances, and also includes all allowances paid under social security schemes financed by the undertaking or industry concerned (see 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraphs 691–692). The Committee asks the Government to take the necessary steps, in cooperation with the social partners, to ensure that the definition of remuneration in the General Labour Act is brought fully into line with the Convention.

Article 1(b). Work of equal value. The Committee refers to its previous comments in which it stressed the importance of ensuring that the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value also applies to situations where men and women working with different employers, under different conditions or having different qualifications, nonetheless perform tasks of equal value. The Committee notes that article 157 of the new General Labour Act requires employers to ensure that workers receive equal remuneration for equal work or work of equal value without discrimination and omits the reference to “conditions”, “qualifications” and “output” that were included in the previous Act as the basis for the calculations. It also notes that the restrictions related to the fact of working for the “same employer” have been deleted from section 242 of the new General Labour Act, which now provides for equal remuneration for men and women for equal work or work of equal value irrespective of the employer and defines the work of equal value as occurring “when the tasks performed, albeit of different nature, are considered to be equivalent through the application of objective job evaluation criteria”. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on how the application of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value is ensured in practice.

Occupational segregation. The Committee notes that in its concluding observations, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) expressed concerns about the concentration of the labour force, notably women, in the informal economy, with low salaries and lack of social protection coverage (E/C.12/AGO/CO/4-5, paragraph 31). The Committee reiterates its request for information on the measures taken or envisaged to combat occupational sex segregation in the labour market and promote women’s access to better-paid and more qualified jobs, in particular by facilitating their access to education and vocational training.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. The Committee notes that in its concluding observations, the CESCR expressed concern about the significant differences in minimum wages that are found between sectors (E/C.12/AGO/CO/4 5, 15 July 2016, paragraph 29). The Committee again requests the Government to provide information on the job evaluation methods used to determine remuneration rates in the public and the private sectors. It also asks the Government to indicate how it ensures that the minimum wage rates set for female-dominated occupations or sectors are not lower than those in male-dominated occupations or sectors.

Statistics. The Committee reiterates its request for available statistical information on the earnings of men and women in the public and the private sectors, by occupational sector and job category.